Measurement of (90)Sr in environmental samples by cation-exchange and liquid scintillation counting.

A new method for the measurement of (90)Sr in environmental samples by cation-exchange and liquid scintillation counting is described. Strontium carbonate is purified by precipitation and ion-exchange, weighed for the determination of chemical yield, dissolved in hydrochloric acid and mixed with the liquid scintillator, Aquasol-2. Two channels of a low-background liquid scintillation counter are used to determine (90)Sr, (90)Y and (89)Sr, free from the effects of environmental tritium. The values of (90)Sr obtained by this method are in good agreement with those from ordinary (90)Y milking and the gas proportional counting method. The concentration of (90)Sr in the air at Tokai-mura in Japan has been measured by the new method.